SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

Yesterday we gave you MeTV Network's spring schedule, now we have Antenna TV's spring 2013 schedule. As we mentioned, Leave it to Beaver, Dragnet and Adam-12 are leaving Antenna TV, as their rights have expired and gone to MeTV. The Antenna TV Spring 2013 schedule will begin on Monday, April 29 (a full week before MeTV's spring schedule) and will have some returning series from hiatus to fill the void of those three major shows leaving. The Nanny and Married...with Children will both return to Antenna TV from hiatus and will air Mon-Thurs, with The Nanny airing 8-9pm ET and Married...with Children from 11pm-12am ET. The Nanny will replace All in the Family in the 8pm hour, as All in the Family is leaving the daily schedule but will move to the Wednesday primetime sitcom block from 9-11pm instead of a second night of Diff'rent Strokes. Not to worry fans of Diff'rent Strokes, the sitcom will still air Monday nights from 9-11pm (and also Sundays 10-11pm). Married will replace one of the many Leave it to Beaver hours. Returning to the weekday morning/afternoon line-up will be McHale's Navy, Bachelor Father and Hazel, as three hours were needed since Beaver, Dragnet and Adam-12 were heavily part of the daytime schedule. The late afternoon/evening line-up will remain unchanged from 4pm-8pm, which includes hours of Partridge Family, Good Times, Sanford & Son and Maude. Late nights will remain unchanged from 12am on, which includes Alfred Hitchcock Presents at 12 midnight.

Friday nights will have a return to the black & white sitcom block. From 8pm-12am, classic '50s/'60s sitcoms will air: Dennis the Menace, Father Knows Best, McHale's Navy and the return of The Three Stooges to the line-up. Onto weekends, Circus Boy will be leaving the schedule, as a second morning of Rin Tin Tin will be added. McHale's Navy will also get some weekend action from 1-2pm, while more It Takes a Thief will be added to fill the void of Adam-12 and Dragnet. Also leaving weekends will be S.W.A.T. and Here Come the Brides, while Suspense Theatre gets more airtime. The Sunday night sitcom block of '70s/'80s series will remain unchanged from 8pm-12am with Barney Miller, Maude, Diff'rent Strokes and Benson. That about sums up the schedule, but be sure to view the full schedule below. There are no new shows in the line-up, but plenty of time changes and shows returning from hiatus. Some new additions will probably not be added until the fall, so stay with us for that.
View the Antenna TV Spring 2013 schedule, which begins April 29. Stay with us for continued updates as usual.




On the next...Go On:
By: Vincent

NBC's freshman comedy starring Matthew Perry airs again on a special night Thursday at 9:30pm and we have just watched the next episode that air tonight (April 11). It's the season finale! In the episode airing tonight, "Urn-ed Run," Ryan, (Matthew Perry) in the continuing effort to recover after the loss of his wife, Janie, (Christine Woods) is presented with a plan "masterminded" by Mr. K (Brett Gelman) and Anne (Julie White) to help force Ryan to lay his wife's ashes to rest, but the plan goes awry. Meanwhile, the group grumbles they're not getting anything out of their sessions and blame Lauren (Laura Benanti) to such an extent that Yolanda (Suzy Nakamura) and Sonia (Sarah Baker) make up a big problem for her to fix. After the failure of both plans, the group comes together with new perspectives.

Go On is a perfectly capable sitcom. Unlike its former timeslot partner The New Normal, it has comfortably slipped into a comic rhythmic that utilizes its talented cast in the best way possible. Each episode is good for a few laughs, and the show's ensemble has developed really nicely, reaching that magical point where sometimes it's just fun to watch these people bounce off of each other. The show's major problem, though - and the problem that keeps it from being a truly great sitcom on par with some of NBC's other flagship comedies - is that it has completely dropped the ball on its dark, interesting premise of a widower trying to move on and finding comfort in a support group. Occasionally, Go On will show us a glimpse of its serious side, but it's always covered in several layers of silly sitcom antics, which significantly takes away from the impact that the show wants it to have.



All of that is all too evident in tonight's finale, which has a potentially thoughtful storyline about Ryan finally spreading his wife's ashes but goes through several worn-out sitcom tropes to get to an ending that's somewhat emotional, but isn't bold enough to truly delve into the darkness that the material requires. It doesn't help that the silly sitcom scenarios aren't particularly funny and don't seem to have a lot of effort put into them - the show's humor works much better with one-liners and witty banter. It often feels like Go On wants to be both ambitious & dark and broad & accessible, and it just isn't able to strike that balance. Still, there's enough that works here to make Go On's finale a fairly entertaining half-hour, and maybe if the show gets a second season (it's squarely on the bubble right now), it'll learn to work with its various elements. But right now, it feels like an okay show that could be something more. C+

NBC has announced a lot of changes for spring. First up, Smash will be moving to Saturdays at 9PM beginning April 6 through May 18. Smash's last Tuesday at 10pm airing will be on April 2, so there are three Tuesday airings left before it is delegated to Saturdays for its remaining seven episodes. NBC will be finishing up its Tuesday comedies in April as scheduled, but with The New Normal actually getting a two-episode finale from 9-10pm on April 2. It could be the last two episodes ever for this comedy. Meanwhile, Go On will air its final two episodes of the season on a special night and time on Thursdays, April 4 and 11, 2013 at 9:30pm, leading into new drama Hannibal at 10. NBC has not yet announced what will air at 9:30pm beginning April 18, but since it is only four weeks, NBC will likely air reruns of The Office. Don't forget the one-hour series finale of The Office is Thursday, May 16 at 9pm. Go On has two more Tuesdays at 9 airings left (March 19 and 26) before its two-week Thursday run. One more Thursday note, NBC will burn-off the remaining episodes of 1600 Penn quickly on March 21 and March 28 at a special time of 8:30pm and also its normal time of 9:30pm. Like The New Normal & Smash, this series has little chance of returning next season, but Go On has a 50/50 chance.

Replacing Smash essentially on Tuesdays will be new reality series Ready for Love, which will now air Tuesdays 9-11pm ET/PT beginning Tuesday, April 9 through Tuesday, May 28. The series was originally supposed to get a preview on Tuesday, March 26 and premiere on its normal night Sunday, March 31 from 8-10pm, but neither will now happen. Ready for Love will follow The Voice on Tuesdays, as that series will air in the Tuesdays at 8pm time period from March 26-June 11. The Voice also airs 8-10pm on Mondays from March 25-June 17. Onto Sundays, on March 31 and April 7 only, NBC will encore the previous week's Monday/Tuesday episodes of The Voice from 7-9pm ET/PT and 9-10pm ET/PT respectively into one-hour episodes of Celebrity Apprentice at 10. However, that series will now go back to two-hour episodes from April 14-May 19 from 9-11pm ET/PT following encores of The Voice from 7-9pm ET/PT. And onto Wednesdays, Whitney will now end a week earlier on Wednesday, March 27 with a two-episode season finale from 8-9pm. It was originally supposed to end its season on April 3, but now NBC will air Dateline in the hour beginning April 3 and not the planned move of Betty White's Off Their Rockers, as previously announced.

View a complete list of NBC spring changes in a list form. And stay with us for continued updates.



On the next...Parks & Recreation:
By: Skees

NBC's Thursday night comedy starring Amy Poehler airs Thursday nights at 8:30pm and we have just watched the next episode that airs tonight (March 14). In the episode airing tonight, "Bailout," Leslie (Amy Poehler) tries to help a local video store stay in business after the owner (guest star Jason Schwartzman) is hit by the bad economy. Chris (Rob Lowe) tries to give Tom (Aziz Ansari) some fatherly advice in dealing with a difficult employee (guest star Jenny Slate), while Ann (Rashida Jones) blackmails April (Aubrey Plaza) into being her friend.

In "Bailout," Pawnee's only independent video store is about to go the way of Blockbuster… gone. Leslie is determined to use her power on the city council to save this treasure at any cost, and in a battle against the Pawnee libertarians (who consider her actions to be a "bailout"), successfully manages to get the store declared a Pawnee landmark. Unfortunately, Leslie's hopes and dreams for the landmark are a bit crushed when she finds out that the store would rather use landmark status to become a porn video store (in opposition of her hopes that they'd rent films like Finding Nemo). Meanwhile, Jean-Ralphio's sister (guest star Jenny Slate) has come to take a job at Rent-a-Swag, but she is really making Tom's life absolutely miserable. And that isn't all: Ann is using every means possible to blackmail April into being her friend.


This is another great episode of the NBC Thursday night sitcom, which has slowly become my favorite sitcom on TV. This is the series at its best: Leslie trying to do good for the city (even if it really isn't a huge thing) and facing opposition from Ron Swanson and other libertarians… and as often happens, it doesn't work out so well for Leslie, even if she does like to look at the positive side. One of the best scenes happens to be during the city council meeting… if you follow sitcom star views on politics at all, you'll notice that one of those speaking in opposition of the landmark status says something that is almost identical to a statement made by Craig T. Nelson. The subplot of the episode about Tom dealing with Mona Lisa (Slate) was a little lacking in the sense that there wasn't a whole lot of development, but I really did like the Mona Lisa character and her relationship with Tom, and hope that we get to see more of her in future episode. A-

We told you that Happy Days was getting a Super Bowl marathon on Sunday, Feb. 3 on Hallmark, but now Hallmark has changed the marathon to another sitcom. Instead of Happy Days, we will now have a Super Bowl marathon of The Golden Girls on from 11am-11pm on Super Bowl Sunday. I guess the Snickers Super Bowl commercial with Betty White is still paying dividends? No actual reason for the change, but Happy Days is doing fine as it will continue to air in its current timeslots of weekdays from 2-5pm and Mon-Thurs 8-10pm. In other scheduling news, Fridays will have some changes from 12-2pm for the original shows. Marie will not air Fridays, as Laura McKenzie's Traveler will air Fridays at noon beginning Feb. 1, while new series Who Let the Dogs Out will air Fridays at 1 beginning Feb. 1. The sitcoms will stay put in their timeslots, so that's some good news!

We'll have some more good news for The Golden Girls very soon. Hopefully later this week, that will have fans possibly excited. Stay with us! Thank you for being a friend!

On the next...Go On:
By: Pavan

NBC's freshman comedy starring Matthew Perry airs Tuesday nights at 9:00pm and we have just watched the next two episodes, that air tonight (Jan. 22) and next Tuesday (Jan. 29). Both episodes feature a guest-arc with Piper Perabo (Covert Affairs) and we have got the scoop on what goes down and what we think. In the episode airing tonight, "Comeback Player of the Year," Ryan (Matthew Perry) fears the group chemistry will change and feels threatened by the return of the very popular and beautiful former group member, Simone (special guest star Piper Perabo) who tries to force the group to choose between her and Ryan. Elsewhere in the episode, Ryan's friend and boss Steven (John Cho) and group member Mr. K (Brett Gelman) buddy bond and along with Terrell Owens, teach Ryan a lesson, while Anne (Julie White) prevents Danny (Seth Morris) from being taken to the cleaners in his divorce.

Piper Perabo guest stars as a former beloved (well, "she's the most awesome, coolest") member of the group and she knows everyone but newbie Ryan. She walks into the group wearing a stunning green outfit. Her character is sort of like her character on Covert Affairs, in which she just came back from traveling the globe (in this case, places like Marrakesh). At first glance, I thought it was Annie Walker herself. But that changes later on as we find out that she is sort of full of herself. I noticed right away that her and Ryan would probably make a good match, but Ryan starts off with wanting her banished from the group because all the attention is now on her. We're not sure how long she is staying but we find out she was recently engaged to a poet and on the day of their wedding...he disappeared. For now, she will be staying at Anne's (who is a lesbian...) place. As the episode progresses her character tries to pursue Ryan. We won't give much away but the entire episode is a hoot and probably the best episode of the series. All of the plotlines work well, including the B-plotline of Steven and Mr. K bonding and teaming up with NFL star Terrell Owens to get Ryan back. The other plotline of the episode is Anne trying to help Danny with his divorce, but this one isn't as interesting as the other two plotlines, but still works well. Everything comes together at the end of the episode at Anne's place where a hilarious surprise happens! Let's just say censors will have to be turned on! A-

In the episode airing next week, "Pass Interference," despite Lauren's (Laura Benanti) warning to Ryan (Matthew Perry) of no dating among group members, he continues to pursue Simone (special guest star Piper Perabo) but each time things heat-up with them, Janie's (guest star Christine Woods) ghost appears, throwing Ryan off his game. The group helps Ryan deal with the guilt he feels as he starts dating again. Meanwhile Anne (Julie White), Yolanda (Suzy Nakamura), Sonia (Sarah Baker) and Fausta (Tonita Castro) decide to buy Lauren a wedding dress and use Owen (Tyler James Williams) as a body double.

This episode isn't as good as the previous episode, but still delivers the goods. Piper Perabo wasn't in the episode as much as she was in the previous one but when she is in it, she made it count. The aftermath from the end of the last episode is dealt with and Perabo's character has gotten into the head of Ryan, but now he is seeing his deceased wife as a ghost whenever she is with Simone. And that freaks Ryan out and will that make Simone think he is crazy? The other plotline is about the gang trying to help group leader Lauren buy a wedding dress. I'm still guessing Lauren's wedding will not happen because since the premiere I always thought Ryan and Lauren would probably end up together. The episode ends in a nice way at an event where the ghost of Ryan's wife appears maybe for the last time? Not sure, but Piper Perabo killed it in that blue dress! B

Go On continues to surprise us. It's not always laugh-out-loud but it has a lot of heart and it works well. We're really invested into this group and are dying to see if they are improving. Ryan takes a big step in these two episodes and you just feel like rooting for him to get Simone. But I'm sure some core fans want him to ultimately end up with Lauren. Piper Perabo shines and is as beautiful as ever in the guest-arc that will continue for another episode at least beyond these two. The episode airing tonight is the best episode of the series. Don't go pass Go On, go right to it...you'll laugh tonight!

NBC has picked up three of its new fall series - the adventure-drama Revolution and the comedies Go On and The New Normal -- for full-season commitments for the rest of the 2012-13 season. While we are only in week two of the new season, all three of these series started earlier on NBC and are already a few weeks in (three for Revolution and five for the comedies). All three will at least get the back nine now, for a total of 22 episodes each. More episodes could be ordered still, so stay tuned. In Go On, Matthew Perry (Friends, Mr. Sunshine) stars as Ryan King, a recent widower and sports talk radio host ready to get back to work after the loss of his wife... but Ryan's alpha-male boss, Steven (John Cho), has a different plan in store for Ryan, making him attend grief counseling before returning to the air. Lauren Graham (NBC's Parenthood) will guest-star in an upcoming episode of Go On as Ryan King's old college friend and his former radio talk show co-host. An airdate for Graham's episode will be announced later. Multiple Emmy Award winner Bob Costas from NBC Sports and Chris Bosh from the NBA's world champion Miami Heat also will appear as themselves in additional episodes.

On The New Normal, these days, families come in all forms - single dads, double moms, sperm donors, egg donors, one-night-stand donors... It's 2012 and anything goes. Bryan (Andrew Rannells) and David (Justin Bartha) are a Los Angeles couple and they have it all. Well, almost. With successful careers and a committed, loving partnership, there is one thing that this couple is missing: a baby. And just when they think the stars will never align, enter Goldie (Georgia King), an extraordinary young woman with a checkered past. A midwestern waitress and single mother looking to escape her dead-end life and small-minded grandmother (Emmy and Tony Award winner Ellen Barkin), Goldie decides to change everything and move to L.A. with her precocious eight year-old daughter. Desperate and broke - but also fertile - Goldie quickly becomes the guys' surrogate and quite possibly the girl of their dreams. Surrogate mother, surrogate family. And finally on Revolution, what would you do without it all? In this epic adventure from J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot Productions and Supernatural's Eric Kripke, a family struggles to reunite in an American landscape where every single piece of technology -- computers, planes, cars, phones, even lights -- has mysteriously blacked out forever. A drama with sweeping scope and intimate focus, Revolution is also about family -- both the family you're born into and the family you choose. This is a swashbuckling journey of hope and rebirth seen through the eyes of one strong-willed young woman, Charlie Matheson (Tracy Spiridakos), and her brother Danny (Graham Rogers). When Danny is kidnapped by militia leaders for a darker purpose, Charlie must reconnect with her estranged uncle, Miles (Billy Burke), a former U.S. Marine living a reclusive life. Together, with a rogue band of survivors, they set out to rescue Danny, overthrow the militia, and ultimately re-establish the United States of America. All the while, they explore the enduring mystery of why the power failed, and if -- or how -- it will ever return.

Finally, in case you missed it last week when we broke on Twitter, the men from the new sitcom Guys with Kids performed a "History of TV Theme Songs" on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Why? TV sitcoms don't have theme songs these days so Fallon made sure Guys with Kids had one and he himself sings the theme song! Fallon of course also is the executive producer of the sitcom. As a tribute to some of the great TV theme songs of all-time, they decided to sing them! From The Jeffersons, to All in the Family to Three's Company to Cheers and to even Sanford & Son, we see Jimmy Fallon, Anthony Anderson, Jesse Bradford and Zach Cregger sing these classic tunes. Watch the full clip below!
Guys with Kids airs Wednesdays on NBC and comes from the aforementioned Emmy winner and executive producer Jimmy Fallon. It's about three thirty-something dads trying to hold on to their youth, while holding onto their new babies' hands. Easy, right? Thankfully, Chris (Jesse Bradford), Nick (Zach Cregger) and Gary (Anthony Anderson) have each other to help navigate their survival as new dads, while still trying desperately to remain dudes. Balancing work or staying at home, painfully married or happily divorced, they know that taking care of the little ones while maintaining a social life is a daily challenge. Whether it's hosing the little squirt down in the kitchen sink or hitting the bar strapped with a baby björn, these guys are on a roller-coaster adventure - parenting like you (and they) have never seen before. Also starring are Jamie Lynn Sigler and Tempestt Bledsoe (The Cosby Show). There is one thing missing from this medley the cast performed...The Cosby Show. I could imagine Fallon or Anderson acting like Cosby. Anyway, watch the video below as this sitcom is currently struggling in the ratings and its future is up in the air to get a full season. Stay with us if we get any news on its fate.

It's almost that time of year again...the start of the new TV season! So let's get ready for that with annual network preview specials to inform us on what is new and returning! See our Fall 2011 preview from last year.

First up we will look at ABC. ABC's Fall 2012 preview special is titled The Chew Presents ABC's Primetime Fall Preview Special. This year ABC will air two versions -- one in primetime and one for local ABC affiliates. The primetime version will be one-hour and air on Sunday, Sept. 2 at 7pm ET. The special showcases the new fall Primetime lineup, including new late news lead-ins 666 Park Avenue and Nashville and the new Wednesday comedy, The Neighbors. The special will also feature the new Shawn Ryan drama Last Resort. The preview show will be hosted by The Chew's Mario Batali, Michael Symon, Carla Hall, Clinton Kelly and Daphne Oz. A half-hour version will be airing on ABC Affiliates beginning Sept. 15, so check your local listings (WABC in NYC hasn't scheduled it yet). The primetime version will be reaired on ABC on Sunday, Sept. 23 from 3-4PM ET/1-2PM PT. The special usually airs on ABC-owned cable networks as well, but as of now networks like ABC Family have not scheduled it. And also as of now, it isn't on abc.com but it is still early.

Next is CBS. The CBS Fall 2012 preview special, simply titled CBS Fall Preview Sneak Peek will be a primetime special previewing CBS's new fall lineup, to be hosted by the stars of 2 Broke Girls - Kat Dennings and Beth Behrs - will be broadcast on Monday, Sept. 10 from 8:30-9:00 PM, ET/PT nationally on the CBS Television Network following an encore of How I Met Your Mother and leading into an encore of 2 Broke Girls. The preview will feature sneak peeks of the five new additions to CBS's primetime schedule this fall: the drama series Vegas, Elementary, and Made In Jersey, and the comedy series Partners. CBS.com doesn't usually post the preview, so you'll have to watch it on-air or if you miss that, your local CBS might air it on a weekend in the daytime -- but that is not confirmed.

Moving on to NBC, the NBC Fall 2012 preview special (titled once again The NBC Primetime Preview Show) has started airing on their cable owned networks & local NBC affiliates (such as USA, Syfy, Bravo, UniHD, Chiller, mun2, MSNBC, CNBC, Oxygen, Sleuth, Xfinity, E! Entertainment Television, mun2, NBC2Go, on-demand and broadband) since Aug. 8 and will continue to run through Sept. 30 (in NYC it is on next on WNBC Sat Sept. 1 at 7pm). The special will be hosted by Matthew Perry and the cast of NBC's new comedy Go On. The entertainment special will focus on NBC's new shows for the fall, including the dramas Revolution and Chicago Fire, along with the new comedies Go On, The New Normal, Animal Practice and Guys With Kids.

Onto Fox, the Fox Fall 2012 preview special starts airing on local Fox affiliates soon on weekends (in NY WNYW Sun Sept. 2 at 3pm) and is simply titled Fox Fall Preview Special. It will only run on local Fox affiliates again and not on Fox in primetime. No information is available as of this writing on who is hosting and what the special features, but it will of course feature their new programs: The Mob Doctor, Ben & Kate, and The Mindy Project. No idea yet also if it will be on fox.com, but check your local Fox listings for on-air showtimes.

And finally we conclude with The CW. The CW's Fall 2012 TV preview special is called The CW Fall First Look is airing on local CW affiliates as of this past weekend (such as NY's WPIX on Sat. Sept 8 at 8pm)! No word if it will also air nationally on The CW like it did last year. Series featured will be Arrow, Beauty and the Beast, and Emily Owens M.D. The affiliate special is a half-hour, and last year's primetime version had fifteen more minutes in primetime. Watch the half-hour special right now

NBC's comedy The Office will end after the upcoming ninth season, it was announced on a conference call by Greg Daniels to reporters on Tuesday. Executive producer Greg Daniels will return as showrunner for this final hurrah, taking over from Paul Lieberstein, who is developing a potential spinoff with Rainn Wilson. Daniels ran the show for the first five seasons. Here is what he had to say:

"This year feels like the last chance to really go out together and make an artistic ending for the show that pays off a lot of the stuff that matters most to fans. This will be the last season of The Office. And we're planning a very big exciting last season. We're going to have a lot of faces coming back. There are a lot of things that I've personally been wanting to do since season two. All questions will be answered this year. We're going to see who's behind the documentary. Now that we know we have an end date we can blow things up and take some chances and it will be very freeing, creatively."

The ninth and final season of The Office premieres Thursday, Sept. 20 at 9pm ET/PT on NBC.

Go On - Tuesdays 9:00PM ET/PT on NBC
Sneak Peek Wednesday, August 8, 2012 at 11:04PM ET/PT and
Premieres Tuesday, September 11, 2012 at 9:00PM ET/PT

By Pavan

Matthew Perry (Friends, Mr. Sunshine) stars as Ryan King, a recent widower and sports talk radio host ready to get back to work after the loss of his wife. Ryan's alpha-male boss, Stephen (John Cho, FLASHFORWARD, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle), has a different plan in store for Ryan, making him attend grief counseling before returning to the air. A reluctant Ryan finds himself in a support group for "life change" where he meets an oddball cast of characters, all with their own backstories filled with varying degrees of loss. On his very first visit, Ryan convinces the group to deviate from their normal session and starts a tournament-style competition (March Sadness!) to find out whose story is the worst. Ryan's total lack of interest in "the healing process" proves distracting, and he soon butts heads with the by-the-books group leader, Lauren, played by Tony Award-winner Laura Benanti (Eli Stone, The Playboy Club). Back at work, Ryan is confronted with the fact that he hasn't really processed his grief and realizes Lauren and the other members of the group might be key in helping him move on. Starring Matthew Perry, Laura Benanti, Julie White, Suzy Nakamura, Tyler James Williams, Brett Gelman, and John Cho.


Cast Details:

* Matthew Perry as Ryan King
* Laura Benanti as Lauren
* Julie White as Anne
* Suzy Nakamura as Yolanda
* Tyler James Williams as Owen
* Brett Gelman as Mr. K
* John Cho as Steven

Matthew Perry (Ryan King) is perhaps best known for his role as Chandler on NBC's critically acclaimed comedy Friends. Since Friends concluded, Perry has continued to captivate worldwide audiences with his diverse talents in a range of projects. His versatility in both television and film makes him one of today's most accomplished and credible actors. Most recently, Perry guest starred in a multi-episode arc on The Good Wife, portraying an extremely charming Chicago lawyer with questionable ethics. He starred and served as executive producer and co-writer of Mr. Sunshine for ABC. The series was based on an idea conceived by Perry, and also starred Allison Janney, Andrea Anders, James Lesure and Nate Torrence. Additional television series include NBC's Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip in a role written for him by Aaron Sorkin. He made his directorial debut with an episode of Scrubs in 2004, where he also guest starred in the episode alongside his father, John Perry, portraying his fictional father. Perry received an Emmy nomination in the category of Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for his role as Joe Quincy on the long-running NBC drama, The West Wing. Additionally he received Emmy, Golden Globe and SAG Award nominations for his starring role in The Ron Clark Story. And his feature film credits include 17 Again, Birds of America, Numb, The Whole Nine Yards, The Whole Ten Yards, Three to Tango, Almost Heroes, Fools Rush In and Serving Sara.

Laura Benanti (Lauren) has brought her unique abilities to comedies, dramas and musicals since she took Broadway by storm at the age of 18. She received a Tony nomination, Drama Desk Award and Outer Critics Circle Award for her starring role in the Broadway production of Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown for Lincoln Center, where she also starred in Sarah Ruhl's In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play), for which she garnered critical acclaim for her heartbreaking and brave performance. On TV, most recently she starred in NBC's The Playboy Club. Other television roles include recurring roles on The Big C, NBC's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Life on Mars, as well as her heralded portrayal of Billie on Starved, and a recurring role on Eli Stone for ABC.

Julie White (Anne) most recently co-starred in Steven Spielberg's film Office Seekers, opposite Daniel Day Lewis and Sally Field. She has been a staple in the indie film market in films such as Hello I Must Be Going, Breaking Upwards, Language of a Broken Heart, Inside Out, My Idiot Brother and Killing Karma. She has also been featured in all-three Transformers films, Michael Clayton opposite George Clooney, The Astronaut Farmer starring Billy Bob Thorton, The Nanny Diaries with Laura Linney, and many more. Her television credits include guest-starring roles on Law & Order, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Six Feet Under and JAG. White also starred as a series regular in the '90s ABC comedy Grace under Fire.

Suzy Nakamura (Yolanda) began her career in the touring company of The Second City, and later opened the first two shows at The Second City Detroit. After moving to Los Angeles, she began guest starring on television, eventually landing recurring roles on The West Wing and Curb Your Enthusiasm. Nakamura has appeared in over 100 television episodes. She starred opposite Ted Danson in the ABC sitcom Help Me Help You and also on 10 Things I Hate About You. She was also a series regular on sitcoms Daddio and Imagine That. Recent guest star credits include In Plain Sight, How I Met Your Mother, Castle, The Middle, and Bones, as well as recurring roles on 8 Simple Rules, Modern Family and Men of a Certain Age.

Tyler James Williams (Owen) is perhaps best known for his starring role on the Emmy and NAACP Image Award-winning series Everybody Hates Chris for which he won the 2007 NAACP Image Award for Best Actor in a Comedy Series. He began acting at the age of four on Sesame Street and later co-starred in the animated series Little Bill. Additional television credits include House, Law & Order: SVU and numerous appearances in sketches on Saturday Night Live. Williams can be seen next in Tyler Perry's film, We the Peeples. He also starred in the feature film Unaccompanied Minors.

Brett Gelman (Mr. K) is an Upright Citizens Brigade regular, is currently co-starring in Adult Swim's Eagleheart. He has appeared in The Other Guys, directed by Adam McKay, and both seasons of Funny or Dies Presents. Additional credits include a guest starring role on The League, Curb Your Enthusiasm and Bored to Death.

John Cho (Steven) first came into the spotlight in the 1999 breakthrough hit comedy American Pie, in which he popularized the slang term "MILF," and recently reprised his role in the latest installment, American Reunion. He achieved near-household name status starring as Harold Lee in the cult comedies, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay and A Very Harold and Kumar 3-D Christmas. He completed shooting the next installment of J.J. Abrams' Star Trek franchise, reprising the role of Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu. He can also be seen in Len Wiseman's upcoming remake of the classic Total Recall, as well as Identity Theft, starring Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy and directed by Seth Gordon, and Get a Job, starring Miles Teller, Nick Braun and Bryan Cranston and directed by Dylan Kidd. On television, Cho co-starred as Agent Demitri Noh in ABC’s drama series FlashForward and the Weitz Bros' Off Centre. In addition to numerous guest-starring roles, he recurred on the final season of Kitchen Confidential.


Pilot Plot:

#1 "Pilot" (Airs Wednesday, August 8, 2012)
After taking some time to deal with the death of his wife, sportscaster Ryan King is ready to push his feelings down and get back to work. However, Ryan's boss Steven, preferring that Ryan work through his grief first, refuses to let him back on air until he gets counseling. Reluctantly, Ryan joins a support group, where his lack of interest in healing not only makes therapy interesting but also may just serve as the breath of fresh air needed to get his fellow group members back on track to health.

Guest starring in "Pilot" are Terrell Owens as himself, Bill Cobbs as George, Tonita Castro as Fausta, Seth Morris as Danny, Sarah Baker as Sonia, Matt Knudsen as Jack Madden, Kimrie Lewis-Davis as Terrell's girlfriend, Allison Miller as Carrie and Khary Payton as Don.
The episode was written by Scott Silveri, and directed by Todd Holland.

Analysis:

Matthew Perry is back on NBC but this time on a single-camera comedy. We know he recently did Mr. Sunshine for ABC, which I found to be OK at best, per our review. It had potential but never found its groove despite the stellar cast. His character on that show was a miserable mess I think. I didn't find that to be unappealing, but apparently many did. On this show, Go On, he is a sports talk radio host, while on Mr. Sunshine he ran a sports arena. The central location for that show was an arena, but on this show it is more set at a group support session with the sports radio talk show mixed in. Perry's character on this show is Ryan King, who is the host of the sports radio talk show The Ryan King Show. The pilot starts off with him returning after a month off because his wife had passed away. He thinks he is ready to go back to work, but his boss Steven is not as convinced so he orders him to take 10 group support sessions. He is of course forced to go and is unwilling to participate but when the group support session leader is running late, he sort of takes over and brings in his sports knowledge and incorporates it into the group and makes it fun. He starts a "whose thing is the worst" bracket style. One of the group members, Owen (aka Chris from Everybody Hates Chris), suggests the game to be called "March Sadness."

This is where the fun and meat of the show begins. There are ten members of the group, now including Ryan. Each member is unique. There are many standouts, like George, Owen, Mr. K, Fausta and Yolanda. There are so many members in the group that they are not all series regulars...so hopefully some of these people like George and Fausta appear in all or most episodes. I think they can do away with a few characters like Don, in fact they did drop the character after the pilot, so you won't see him anymore. Anyway, just as they were having fun with "March Sadness," the group leader, Lauren, walks in and they start their normal session. I started thinking Ryan is kind of like Perry's character on Mr. Sunshine-- a guy with no feelings, as he was unwilling to open up. I was thinking if his character on Mr. Sunshine got married and then his wife died, he would be like Ryan King. But at the end of the pilot you realize that's not true and Ryan King is much a better person than Ben from Mr. Sunshine.

I think the chemistry between Ryan and Laura really works, especially after his second session. They have a really great scene inside her car. This is something to really watch in future episodes. In the pilot, there wasn't much set in the sports talk radio studio. It will be interesting how they incorporate both sides. Right now, the sports side needs a little work while the group support session really worked well. Since his boss Steven (John Cho) was originally intended to be a guest star, maybe in future episodes there will be more at the sports talk show. John Cho is now a series regular. I did like the scene towards the end of the show where Terrell Owens is Ryan's guest on his talk show. It was pretty funny and we realize how Jane, Ryan's deceased wife, died. After that scene, we realize Ryan King is just really heartbroken and he goes back to the support group after leaving after his second session.


Conclusion:

This is not really a sports comedy. In fact it is more of a support group comedy with a lot of heart. Yep, Perry's character actually means well on this show. The title implies that he is trying to "go on" with his life. He will take steps in getting there but he does actually care. This sitcom previews tonight with the pilot episode, airing commercial-free from 11:04-11:30pm. Episode two will not air until another month, though, on Tuesday, Sept. 11 at its regular night and time of Tuesdays at 9 on NBC.

It's going to be in a tough time slot with two other comedies that already have a following (and NCIS: LA on CBS). The difference is this comedy will have a head start not only after tonight but its first two weeks in September, as New Girl returns to Fox on Sept. 25. NBC is banking on this comedy to anchor their Tuesday night, so they have expectations it will do well, especially with former NBC star Matthew Perry headlining the series. The cast on this show is really good, even if they are not as known as the Mr. Sunshine cast. These characters are more relatable and likeable. One of the support group members, Yolanda, played by Suzy Nakamura was on a similar style series called Help Me Help You. That sitcom starred Ted Danson and aired on ABC. I thought that pilot was decent but future episodes didn't really hold up as well. I don't think it had the heart of this series' pilot, though. This pilot mixes it up well between funny and emotional. Let's hope it continues to do that and better incorporates the sports radio side as well. When those two mesh, then we are going to have a great comedy and Matthew Perry will be nominated for an Emmy. Right now it is good, but it has potential to be great. So "go on" and watch Go On because you're in store for a heartwarming comedy (which I was not expecting)!


Final Numbers (out of 5 stars):

Watchability: 4/5
Funniness: 3.5/5
Overall: 4/5

Discuss the show after you watch it on Wednesday, August 8 on our message board.

Related Links:

NBC.com Official Site

TV.com

epguides.com

Internet Movie Database

Wikipedia

Go On Photo Gallery

Preview:

ION Television has announced the addition of the popular police procedural series Numb3rs to its expanding general entertainment programming lineup. The content deal with CBS Television Distribution includes all six seasons (118 episodes) of the series and bolsters ION's solid programming foundation with another high-quality syndicated series. Numb3rs is set to premiere on ION during the 2012/13 television season. The Numb3rs deal follows another key programming addition for the network, as ION recently announced its first exclusive broadcast partnership with WWE for the original series WWE Main Event. Numb3rs also joins ION's "Positively Entertaining" lineup of hit series, including the original show Flashpoint, Criminal Minds, Cold Case, Psych, Without a Trace, George Lopez and Leverage.
Currently Numb3rs is airing on cable network TNT in the late nights and in local syndication on weekends. Come this Fall, it will be gone from both as it will air also on MyNetwork TV Primetime, as we announced. We will bring you the TNT Fall 2012 schedule very soon, so stay tuned. We will let you know when exactly Numb3rs will air on ION, so stay with us!

NBC announced the premieres and sneak peeks of its new Fall 2012 primetime schedule that capitalize on the launch and promotional platforms provided by the network's coverage of the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, the finale of America's Got Talent and the return of The Voice and Sunday Night Football. Most of the new fall shows will premiere in advance of the start of the season.
The rollout of NBC's Fall 2012 season begins with commercial-free sneak previews of the new comedies Go On (Wednesday, August 8) after the evening's coverage of the 2012 Summer Olympic Games and Animal Practice on Sunday, August 12, following the Closing Ceremonies of the Summer Olympics. One day after the conclusion of the Olympics, NBC will debut the new competitive series Stars Earn Stripes with a special two-hour episode on Monday, August 13 (8-10 p.m. ET), followed on the same night with the advance season premiere of Grimm (10-11 p.m. ET). Stars Earn Stripes will only run though September 3, because...continuing NBC's launch strategy, The Voice returns on September 10 (8-10 p.m.), handing-off to encore sneak peeks of the premieres of Animal Practice (10-10:30 p.m. ET) and Go On (10:30-11 p.m. ET).
The NFL Kick-Off Special 2012 and first NFL game of the season is on Wednesday, September 5, followed by Football Night in America (7:00-8:15 p.m.) and Sunday Night Football's (8:15-11 p.m.) return in their regular timeslots on September 9 kick off a launch week that includes the September 11 time-period premiere of Go On (9-9:30 p.m.) followed by the series premiere of The New Normal (9:30-10 p.m.), a sneak peek of Guys With Kids on September 12 (10-10:30 p.m.) after the next to last episode of America's Got Talent, and the season premiere of Parenthood on September 11 (10-11 p.m.). To provide additional sampling, the new comedy The New Normal will re-broadcast its first episode on Thursday, September 13 (10-10:30 p.m. ET), following the season finale of America's Got Talent.
Among other new NBC series for fall, the drama Revolution premieres on Monday, September 17 (10-11 p.m. ET); and the drama Chicago Fire debuts on Wednesday, October 10 (10-11 p.m. ET), due to a Presidential Debate on October 3. Animal Practice will start in its regular day and time on Wednesday, September 26 (8-8:30 p.m. ET) followed by the time period premiere of Guys with Kids (8:30-9 p.m. ET). As for returning series not yet mentioned, Up All Night, The Office and Parks and Recreation return on Thursday, Sept. 20 from 8:30-10, as 30 Rock will not launch until Oct. 4. Law & Order: SVU will launch with a two-hour season premiere on Wednesday, Sept. 26 from 9-11pm, as the following week is a debate, as mentioned. Grimm has its regular night premiere on Friday, Sept. 14. And finally, Whitney and Community will not return until Friday, October 19 from 8-9pm.
View the FULL day-by-day schedule for NBC After the Olympics.


It's Friday, so it is time for "Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows" for the coming week. This is where we list what sitcom stars are appearing on talk shows for the coming week, the stars are both current and past sitcom stars, so this is for all sitcom fans of all eras!
For the week of June 18-22, 2012, we have many current sitcom stars and past sitcom stars on TV talk shows! All times listed are Eastern. So get your DVR's (or whatever you use) ready! Ready? Here is all what you need to know for the coming week!

Monday, June 18, 2012

• Steve Carell (The Office) - Watch Steve on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno at 11:35pm on NBC. Seeking a Friend for the End of the World opens in theaters on June 22.
• Denis Leary (The Job) - Denis appears on The Late Show with David Letterman at 11:35pm on CBS.
• Aubrey Plaza (Parks and Recreation) - Aubrey stops by Conan at 11pm on TBS.
• Niecy Nash (The Soul Man/The Cleveland Show/Reno 911!) - Niecy chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
• Suzanne Somers (Three's Company/Step by Step/She's the Sheriff) - Suzanne joins The Revolution on ABC at 2pm ET/1pm PT/CT.
• Cedric the Entertainer (The Soul Man/The Steve Harvey Show) - Cedric visits ABC's Good Morning America between 7-9am.

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

• Steve Carell (The Office) - Catch Steve on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:37am on CBS.
• Cedric the Entertainer (The Soul Man/The Steve Harvey Show) - Cedric visits Late Night with Jimmy Fallon at 12:37am on NBC. He will also be on The Wendy Williams Show at 12am on BET or on you local stations.
• Mark Feuerstein (Good Morning, Miami) - Mark is a guest on LIVE! with Kelly, so check your listings.
• Michael Strahan (Brothers) - Michael appears on a repeat of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check listings.
• Kate Flannery (The Office) - Kate appears on The Wendy Williams Show at 12am on BET or on your local stations.
• Mila Kunis (That '70s Show) - Mila stops by Jimmy Kimmel Live!: Game Night at 8pm on ABC.

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

• Alec Baldwin (30 Rock) - Watch Alec on The Late Show with David Letterman at 11:35pm on CBS.
• Denis Leary (The Job) - Denis drops by Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart at 11pm.
• Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Veep/The New Adventures of Old Christine/Seinfeld) - Julia visits LIVE! with Kelly, so check your listings.
• D.L. Hughley (The Hughleys) - D.L. guest co-hosts LIVE! with Kelly, so check your listings.
• Steve Carell (The Office) - Steve appears on a repeat of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check listings.
• Jerry O'Connell (Carpoolers/My Secret Identiy) - Jerry is a guest on The Wendy Williams Show at 12am on BET or on your local stations.
• Tahj Mowry (Baby Daddy/Smart Guy) - Tahj stops by The Wendy Williams Show at 12am on BET or on your local stations.

Thursday, June 21, 2012

• Courteney Cox (Cougar Town/Friends) - Courteney chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT. She will also be on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon at 12:37am on NBC.
• Steve Carell (The Office) - Steve continues to make the rounds on Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart at 11pm.
• Beth Behrs (2 Broke Girls) - Beth appears on LIVE! with Kelly, so check your listings.
• Tracey Gold (Growing Pains) - Tracey discusses anorexia on Anderson, so check your local listings.

Friday, June 22, 2012

• Denis Leary (The Job) - Watch Denis on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon at 12:37am on NBC.
• Patricia Heaton (The Middle/Back to You/Everybody Loves Raymond) - Patricia chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
• Michael Strahan (Brothers) - Michael guest co-hosts LIVE! with Kelly, so check your listings.
• Kevin Nealon (Weeds) - Kevin appears on a repeat of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check listings.
• Noureen DeWulf (Anger Management) - Noureen dishes on her new FX sitcom, Anger Management, and reveals what it's like working with Charlie Sheen on The Wendy Williams Show at 12am on BET or on your local stations.

Leave us comments on our message board or Tweet/Facebook us to let us know what you think of this Friday feature! We do listen!